Surprisingly, That Clay Person did not pitch too horribly last night, going 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits (including a homer) while walking 3, throwing a wild pitch, and striking out 4. He threw 93 pitches, 57 for strikes…

This loss brings his record to 2-7 for the season–and 0-4 since rejoining the rotation in June…Lovely…

Which makes the continued success of Justin Masterson, who pitches 1 inning, giving up 1 hit and striking out 2–AND not allowing 2 inherited runners to score, even more frustration–cause why THE HELL is this kid not in the rotation and Buchholtz is?????

But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon–Bartolo Colon is making his 1st rehab start here in PA, as the PawSox take on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Skankees tonight. He is expected to pitch about 2 innings, as they start the process of stretching him out…Never thought I would be glad to see the prospect of Colon returning to the lineup….

Fortunately, the Skanks and Tampa Bay lost, so the standings have not changed…But something interesting DID happen in the Skankee game last night–Joba, who was the starter for the contest, left the game with a stiff right shoulder in the 5th inning. Its unknown if he will make his next start….

Mike Lowell got the night off and an anti-inflammatory shot for his right hip flexor, which has been hurting him for the last 5 weeks. Fortunately, Sox trainers do not feel he is risking further damage by playing with the injury….Knowing Mike, he will fight to be back in the lineup for tonight’s game. I think they should let him take a couple of days; let it calm down a bit. Youk can play 3rd, and it will give Sean Casey some playing time…

And since Lowell was out of the lineup, there was a bit of shuffling done, with JD Drew hitting leadoff, Dustin Pedroia moving to the 2nd spot, and Youk moving to cleanup (Jason Bay is hanging tough in the #5 spot) When asked about how does he feel to be moved in the batting order to leadoff, he had a great answer: “I don’t think too much about lineup position spots and stuff. I know Tito gets strapped sometimes a little bit, and sometimes he needs somebody to fill certain roles. I don’t mind doing it at all. The only time it’s a major factor is to start the game. My mindset is kind of one way: try to get on base really no matter where I’m at in the lineup.” I never understood why there was so much brouhaha over the whole place in the lineup thing–it ONLY matters the 1st time through…And it always seems the #9 hitter, which, historically is the “worst” hitter in the bunch, seems to be up in key situations anyway…

What needs to happen is Jacoby Ellsbury needs to get back some of his spooky mojo form last year–cause he is sucking pretty bad right now–he is hitting .217 in his last 38 games.

Not that Coco Crisp is doing much better–he is hitting .133 in HIS last 17 games, and has a crappy night at the plate last night–going 1 for 4–with THREE strikeouts….

Can we say GAPING HOLE IN THE #9 Spot????

Apparently, when Big Papi swung the bat in last night’s game, he tweaked his wrist–yes, THAT wrist…Apparently, this can be normal, as he was warned he might feel movement in the joint–Uh oh…

Hardware alert: After a month of brilliance, and 2 wins against the Skanks, Jon Lester was awarded the American League pitcher for the Month for July. Form Jon: “I’m just a regular starter, going out and pitching every five days, and hopefully, I’ll get the team a quality start. Hopefully, I can build off this year and keep going and getting better and hopefully down the road, become that guy.” Jon went 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 4 starts for the month, and 10-3 for the season–and let’s not forgot the no-hitter against KC on May 19th…

Neato fact: In 1913 Tris Speaker had a 29 road game hitting streak, which is the record for the Sox. Currently, Dustin Pedroia is enjoying a 25 road game hitting streak. Can he break the record? He also is hitting an astounding .445 during the span…

Coming up: Josh Beckett, who will, hopefully, right the ship (something he has been doing far too little this year) in game 2 of this 3 game series. 1st pitch 8:10pm, with Brian Bannister getting the start for KC…